


New York, New York

by scgirl_317



Category: Stargate SG-1, Without a Trace
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-27
Updated: 2013-10-27
Packaged: 2017-12-30 16:24:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1020838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scgirl_317/pseuds/scgirl_317
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when the NY FBI's latest missing person is a snake on the loose? Can Sam and Daniel find him before they do? And just where did this Goa'ould come from?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Zach Bishop opened the lock on the door, sighing as he made his way into the safe. This time he was after artifacts. Egyptian by the looks, now that he saw them. He ruefully shook his head as he quietly bagged the items. If the NYPD knew how many burglaries he was responsible for, they would have a field day. But oh, if they only knew.

He aimed for the ones in better condition, since those were the ones his dad said were more valuable. After all, the only thing that really mattered was the street value so John Bishop could buy more coke. That’s why Zach was reaching for the earthenware jar, to pay for his dad’s next fix. The older man may have been mean high, but he was a downright demon in between. So Zach saved himself the trouble and kept John’s suppliers paid.

The jar was on a high shelf towards the back. Even at almost six feet tall, Zach had to reach on his toes to grab it. The jar slipped off the shelf as he tried to grab it, breaking and setting off an alarm in the process. But what was in the jar was unlike anything Zach had ever seen in his life.

* * *

“What do we have?” asked Samantha, as she gathered with her colleagues in the bullpen.

“Zachary Bishop, seventeen years old,” said Jack, looking at his team. “He was last seen breaking and entering the home of a wealthy antiquities collector, Norman Freeling. The alarm in his safe was tripped at four this morning. Zach’s father, John Bishop, was apprehended several blocks away. The father has turned out to be a drug addict who willingly lets his son take the fall for the crime that paid for his habit, but was the last one to see Zach when he entered the house. No one saw him leave.

“Danny, you and Vivian will go to Mr. Freeling’s house, see if you can pick anything up there. Sam and Martin, you’ll go to the Bishops’ house. I’ll see what I can get out of Dad.”

~6 hours missing~  
“Will you look at this place!” said Danny, taking in Freeling’s house. “It looks like a museum! I mean, the Smithsonian would have a field day if they saw some of these things.”

“Yeah, well,” said Vivian, “the bored and very rich tend to do stuff like this.”

“I’m sorry about that,” said Norman Freeling, entering the room. “The insurance company doesn’t seem to grasp the situation and that I had FBI agents waiting. What can I tell you?”

“Why would the Bishops target you?” asked Vivian.

“It’s no news that I have some of the most valuable Egyptian artifacts in the country. But I honestly can’t understand why they tried to take the jar.”

“Jar?” asked Danny.

“The boy dropped a canopic jar; that’s what set off the alarm,” explained Freeling. “But it wasn’t worth as much as most. No one was ever able to determine whose it was. The glyphs never said who it belonged to. It’s only worth about half as much as, say, Amenhotep or Cheops’s canopic jars.”

“Agent Taylor, I think we have something,” said one of the forensic agents in the next room.

“Excuse us,” said Vivian, turning to follow Danny out. “What do you have?”

“From what we can see, this looks a lot like a number of other thefts over the past few months.”

“You think Zach was responsible for those, too?” asked Danny.

“It makes sense,” said Vivian. “Zach was paying for his father’s drug habit. Re-sale of stolen property probably seemed like a quick way to make some cash.”

“Let me in, you pompous- Hey, let go of me!”

Vivian and Danny turned to see who was yelling—more like screaming—by the front door. They saw a young woman being restrained by one of the NYPD officers.

“I’ll take care of her, Viv. You go see what else you can dig up.”

“Gonna use the old Taylor charm, eh?” Vivian smirked.

“Oh yeah,” said Danny heading towards the petite blonde. “Thank you, officer. I’ll take it from here.”

“You’re FBI?” she demanded.

“Yes ma’am, I’m Special Agent Danny Taylor. I-“

“Big shot, huh?” she interrupted. “Well, Special Agent Taylor, you can start by telling me which jar was broken. Norman didn’t have time to tell me on the phone before you yahoos barged in here. I need to know which one it was.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t catch your name?” Danny asked, trying to remain diplomatic.

“’Cause I didn’t tell you,” she said through gritted teeth. She huffed, “I’m Dylan Montgomery, Norman’s partner. He handles the business end of things while I deal with the artifacts themselves. Now can you tell me which jar was broken?”

“It was the Talis jar, Dylan,” said Norman, walking up.

“No. Of all the-“ she trailed off, kicking the door jam. “I was so close.”

“You could still decipher the symbols, but the jar itself is close to worthless.”

“You said that you don’t know who the jar belonged to,” said Danny. “What made it so special?”

“The figure was of a typical Egyptian woman,” replied Dylan. “But under the neck piece was a section of writing, strange figures I’ve never seen before. I knew it was a written language because of the sequence of the symbols. I managed to decipher what I think is a name, Talis, but that was it.”

“If that’s all you had, why do you say you were close?” asked Vivian.

“I sent pictures of the jar to an archeologist based in Colorado Springs. A friend of mine recommended him, said he was a master of dead languages.”

_~Flashback~_   
_“How’s the jar coming?”_

_“It’s not,” Dylan sighed, running her hands through her hair. “I don’t know, Ethan. I’ve cross referenced this with everything even remotely related to ancient Egypt, and I can’t find anything that looks the slightest bit like these markings.”_

_“Mind if I take a look?” the young man asked. Ethan leaned over her shoulder to get a better look at the image. The familiarity sent a chill down his spine. “Dylan, I think I know someone who could help you with this. A friend from back in Colorado, Daniel Jackson. He’s really good at dead languages.”_

_“Daniel Jackson?” Dylan asked. “You know him?”_

_Ethan shrugged, “If you want, I can email him the pictures for you.”_

_“I’ll take all the help I can get.”_   
_~End Flashback~_

“Do you know how we could get in touch with this Dr. Jackson?” Danny asked.

“No. Ethan’s the one who sent the pictures to him. I can get his contact info for you.”

“We’ll want to talk to Ethan, as well.”

“Okay, well, he’s a student at Columbia University. I could have him go by your office after his classes are over.”

* * *

Daniel clicked on the email he knew contained pictures of a canopic jar. Ethan had told him that much. He zoomed in on the images, picking out the inscriptions. The more he read, the more he got a sense of déjà vu. In fact, the inscription was very similar to those that he had seen on the Osiris jar. Daniel quickly printed out the pictures and ran to Jack’s office.

“We have a problem,” he said, barely stopping to knock. “I think we have a Goa’ould on the loose.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely a problem,” said Jack. “What is it?”

“I got these emailed to me,” Daniel showed him the pictures. “The writing on the neck piece is similar to what I saw on the Osiris jar. Basically ‘banished for eternity,’ that sort of thing.”

“This jar looks intact to me,” said Jack, knowing there was a “but” that Daniel hadn’t mentioned.

“Well, it was. It was broken in an attempted robbery, early this morning.” That caught Jack’s attention. “The jar was in the personal collection of Norman Freeling, New York City. What’s worse is that the boy who was trying to take it has disappeared. The FBI is looking for him, but I’m pretty sure this is something we don’t want the Feds to find.”

“All right, you and Carter go to New York and see what you can dig up. Let me know if you find anything. I’ll have my ear to the ground.”  
Daniel nodded and went off to find Sam.

* * *

An hour later, they were in the air en route to New York. Sam was going over the notes that Daniel had started, when he came back to his seat.

“Everything set?” she asked.

“Yep. A friend of mine will meet us at the airport. He figured he’d pick us up, since we’d want to talk to the FBI, and the FBI wants to talk to him.”

“Who is it?”

“Ethan Barnett,” Daniel paused. “Don’t tell Jack, but I’ve actually been in touch with him for the past year.”

“I thought the Air Force set him up in Denver?” asked Sam.

“They did. He graduated early, and is going to Columbia University.” Sam looked at him in shock. “Don’t look at me that way. We both know Jack’s  
a lot smarter than he lets on. Besides, it’s not unheard of for high schoolers to graduate a year early.”

“True,” Sam agreed. She found it hard to believe that the loud, obnoxious, then-sixteen-year-old clone was in college. This was going to be an interesting couple of days.

True to his word, Ethan Barnett, a.k.a. Jack O’Neill’s clone, was waiting for them at baggage claim at La Guardia airport.

“Hey, Carter, long time no see,” he grinned while they picked out their bags.

“It’s good to see you, too, s- Ethan,” Sam stumbled, catching herself from calling him “sir.”

They waited until they were on the road before starting up about why Sam and Daniel were there.

“I figured you’d want to talk to the team leading the investigation, and the feds apparently want to talk to me, so I figured we’d head straight there.”

“That works,” said Daniel. “Jack’s working to get the investigation handed over to us, since we obviously don’t want news of a Goa’ould getting out.” Daniel watched Ethan’s profile as the young man wove through Manhattan traffic. “What made you email the pictures to me?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re Daniel Jackson, foremost authority on all things ancient Egyptian. Dylan was having a hard time with it, so I offered some help.”

“Dylan?” Sam asked.

“Dylan Montgomery. I’d been working with her for about a month when I first saw the Talis jar. That’s what she called it,” Ethan verified at Daniel’s  
questioning glance.

“Talis,” Daniel said, running over the name in his mind. It was familiar, but he couldn’t place it. He hoped it would come to him over the course of the search. Just then, Sam’s cell rang.

“Carter… Yes sir, we’re on our way to the FBI office… You’re not serious… Yes sir, I understand… Yes sir.” She snapped her phone shut. “The President said that since there’s no proof that the boy was infested, he can’t rightly pull the FBI off the case. All we can do is help them find the boy, and have the team sign non-disclosure forms if he is a Goa’ould.”

“Oh for cryin’ out loud,” Ethan muttered.

* * *

At the FBI office and agent lead them up to the fifth floor and told them to wait while he went for the agent in charge. After a couple minutes, three agents came out.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” said the older agent. “I’m Senior Special Agent Jack Malone; this is Special Agents Danny Taylor and Martin Fitzgerald. You’re Ethan Barnett?”

“Yep, though I can’t imagine what the feds would want with me,” Ethan responded. Sam barely held back a snort of laughter. If this kid wasn’t Jack O’Neill’s clone, she didn’t know who he was.

“Uh huh,” Jack said, clearly unfazed. “You two look a little young to be his parents.”

Sam’s smile quickly disappeared.

“No, we’re here with the Air Force,” Daniel responded, recovering faster from Jack’s comment than Sam. “I’m Dr. Daniel Jackson, this is Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter. We’re here about your current investigation into the disappearance of a young man who broke into a collector’s home.”

“We have reason to believe that it pertains to some sensitive information,” Sam continued. “We’re here to help, but also keep an eye out for anything that might be classified.”

Jack studied them for a moment. “We need to ask you some questions, Dr. Jackson, so if you’ll go with Agent Taylor, Agent Fitzgerald will talk with Ethan. Colonel Carter, if you’ll come with me, we can talk in my office.”

The three obediently split up, each following one of the FBI agents. Sam followed Jack through some glass doors into his office. Jack sat behind his desk and studied her for several minutes before speaking.

“Why is the Air Force interested in a missing person case?”

“We have reason to believe that Zachary Bishop had connections to some sensitive research that we don’t want getting out just yet,” Sam calmly replied. “If our suspicions are confirmed, we’ll need you and your team to sign non-disclosure forms, as well as turn all relevant information over to us. In the meantime, we’re here to help.”

Jack bristled at the thought of the Air Force taking his case. “Very well. If, and only if, you find what you’re looking for, you’ll have it. But until then, you’ll follow my orders like the rest of my team. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” Sam nodded, glad to not have to fight him.

* * *

 

Daniel had been studying Danny since he left Sam. Latino, but most likely raised in the states due to the lack of a noticeable accent. The way he carried himself spoke of a life growing up constantly looking over his shoulder, but he also had an air of self-confidence that came from having to be independent.

The younger agent led him to a glass-encased room. Daniel sat down on one side of the table, across from Danny.

“So, Doctor Jackson,” Danny started.

“Please, call me Daniel,” Daniel interrupted.

“Okay, Daniel. What can you tell me about the robbery?”

“Nothing.”

“You sure about that?” Danny asked, leaning towards Daniel. “You were contacted about the vase two days before it was stolen. I’d call that a little  
more than a coincidence.”

“Well, it was. And it wasn’t a vase; it was a canopic jar, probably containing a liver belonging to some ancient Egyptian. Ms. Montgomery was having trouble translating the inscriptions on the neck piece, so Ethan offered to call me to see if I could help.”

“And could you?” Danny asked, knowing that there was way more to the story than Daniel was letting on.

“I may work for the Air Force, but I’m still an archaeologist,” Daniel said, fearing where this was going. “Given enough time, I could probably decipher most of it.”

“What do you know about the boy?” Danny asked, switching tactics.

“Which one: Ethan or Zachary Bishop?”

“Both.”

“I’d never heard of Zachary Bishop until I found out about this case,” Daniel said, carefully choosing his next words. “Ethan I’ve known for about nine years.”

“Do you think Ethan would have anything to do with this?”

“Listen, I know Ethan better than anyone,” Daniel stated defensively, staring down the young agent. “I can assure you, he’d be the last person involved.”

* * *

 

Martin stared at the young man seated before him. He was different, that was for sure. And so far, he’d held his own whenever the agent had tried to weasel anything out of him.

“How did you get involved with Ms. Montgomery?” Martin asked.

Ethan raised his eyebrow in a very Teal’c-like fashion. “I don’t know what you’re trying to suggest, Mr. FBI Hot-shot, but Ms. Montgomery and I have nothing but a purely professional relationship. I hold her in the highest regard-“

“That’s not what I meant,” Martin interrupted, feeling his cheeks color slightly.

Good. Ethan’s outburst had the intended effect. Sometimes it was nice having close to fifty years worth of knowledge in an almost eighteen-year-old body. People tended to underestimate him, and he used it to his advantage.

“I know,” Ethan replied with a straight face, but his eyes betrayed his mirth. “I’m taking an archeology class. I was having some trouble at first, so I went to the Museum of Natural History and asked around. One of the curators pointed her out.”

“And do you make a habit of helping out with the artifacts?”

“Hey, it pays for my books. I’m a starving college student; I’ll take what I can get.”

“Including setting up a robbery?” Martin asked. He was sure he had the kid cornered now.

“I’ve seen Freeling’s security system; it’s top of the line. I’m not that stupid.”

Martin sat back and looked at this boy across from him. He was different indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

The agents gathered around the table in the bull pen, along with Sam and Daniel. Ethan had left after talking to Martin, needing to get back to class. Martin walked over to Danny, who was gathering several files from his desk.

“What did you get from Dr. Jackson?” he asked.

“Not a lot, that’s for sure,” Danny grunted. “How’d you do with the kid?”

“I’m surprised he’s not in juvvie by now,” Martin huffed. “Has little to no respect for the FBI from the way he acted, and that probably spills over to all branches of law enforcement. But he says he doesn’t know anything about the robbery.”

Danny looked up to see an agent leading an agitated Dylan into the bull pen.

“Special Agent Taylor, will you kindly tell your guard dog to let me go?”

“I’ll take it from here,” he told the junior agent. “What can I do for you, Ms. Montgomery?”

“Cut the crap, Agent Taylor, I’m here as a courtesy,” she retorted and handed him a folder. “This is a list of antiquities dealers that Norman out-bid when we took his collection to the Met. You might find a tie to your missing person there.”

“Thanks, we’ll run these down,” Danny smiled.

Dylan nodded, and then glanced over at the table. A look of recognition crossed her face as her eyes came to rest on Daniel.

“Daniel?” she asked, moving over.

Daniel looked up, fleetingly confused before recognition set in.

“Dylan, wow, you, uh, you look great,” he stammered, standing to meet her.

“Thanks, so do you,” she shyly replied.

Danny wondered at what was between the two of them to douse the spitfire that before handed him his head on a silver platter.

“How’ve you been?” Daniel asked.

“I hate to interrupt this little reunion,” interrupted Jack, “but I have a case to run.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back,” said Daniel, moving away from the table with Dylan. “Look, Dylan, I know it’s been a while, but, well… When I’m done here, how about dinner?”

“Dinner sounds great,” she smiled. She pulled out a business card and handed it to him. “Here’s my number.”

“All right,” Daniel grinned. “I’ll call you when we’re done.”

“You better. See you later.”

Daniel watched her leave then rejoined the team at the table. Sam gave Daniel a knowing look, causing a slight blush to creep up his neck.

“You so have to tell me later,” she whispered.

“Kinda figured that,” he replied.

“Okay, NYPD has a possible sighting on Riverside Drive between 79th and Cathedral Parkway. Martin, I want you and Colonel Carter to start on the north end and work your way south. Vivian, you and Dr. Jackson will work your way north. Hopefully, we’ll corner him.”

* * *

Talis remained hidden. She didn’t know how much longer she could go undetected. Humans seemed to be patrolling the area, and more had just arrived. She had been careless in her escape, and had been made. Unfortunately, she knew nothing of the world she now found herself in. So she spent her time going over her host’s memories, trying to figure out how much time had passed during her captivity. Ra no longer ruled on Earth. The Goa’ould had not been there for several thousand years. This boy knew nothing of the Goa’ould. Ra must have taken the chappa’ai.

Talis steeled herself. She could not give up hope. There had to be some way away from here. And she didn’t think the boy would mind. His memories of his father depicted him as cruel as any System Lord. As soon as she found a new host, she would leave the boy and find a place for him. But for now, he would have to serve her purposes.

* * *

Sam was on alert as she made her way with Martin down Riverside Drive. When they neared the location where NYPD had seen Zach, she suggested they leave the car and continue on foot. Taking a calming breath, she searched for any presence nearby. They had searched several blocks when a familiar chill ran down her spine.

They were close.

“Agent Fitzgerald,” she said quietly, “he’s here, somewhere close by.”

Martin looked at her questioningly, but didn’t argue. He called Vivian to let her know they had narrowed in on the boy. Paying close attention, they combed over the area. Sam looked down an alleyway, and was about to pass, when the chill down her spine intensified.

They had him.

Unfortunately the boy knew it, too. He took off running down the alley to the other end, but he never made it out. Daniel and Vivian had come down and blocked the other end of the alley. Daniel made a running tackle and got the boy before he got away.

The boy was caught.

* * *

The boy sat in the interrogation room, silent. He hadn’t said a word since Daniel had tackled him. Jack had done his best, but the boy wouldn’t even open his mouth.

Sam stepped out to call the SGC. The boy was indeed a Goa’ould, and the situation needed to be handled delicately.

“Good work, Carter,” said O’Neill. “We’ll take over. Bring him back to the base.”

“That’s not going to be easy, sir,” she said. “The FBI is refusing to give him up until they get his statement, and so far, he won’t even say his name. Maybe Dad might be able to help.”

“Yeah,” Jack sighed. “Well, I called the Tok’ra after our last conversation, and they sent Jacob. I’ll have him on a flight out there in less than an hour.”

* * *

Jacob arrived at the FBI office and was escorted up to the Missing Persons Unit. He spotted Sam, and walked up to her.

“Hey Sammie,” he said, giving her a brief hug.

“Hey Dad,” she replied. ”Agent Malone, this is my father, General Jacob Carter. He’s here to talk to the boy. He has… experience… with this sort of thing.”

“Oh, while I’m thinking about it,” Jacob handed a folder to Sam, “Jack sent these for you.”

Sam opened it to reveal five non-disclosure forms. “Yeah, thanks. Why don’t you and Daniel got talk to the boy while I handle this?”

“All right, have fun,” Jacob grinned and turned to go with Daniel to the interrogation room.

Sam turned back to the Missing Persons Unit. “Agent Malone, why don’t we all go in your office? What I have to say to your team needs to be said in private.”

* * *

Daniel and Jacob sat across from the boy, who stiffened when they entered the room. The silence stretched on, not one of them moving.

“Who are you?” Jacob finally asked, but was met with silence.

“Look, the ruse is up,” said Daniel. “We know you’ve been locked in a canopic jar for almost five thousand years, and you’re a little out of the loop. So let me fill you in: Ra’s dead, as is Hathor, Seth, Apophis, Heru’Ur, Osiris, and Sokar. The Jaffa are rebelling and the Tok’ra have filtered through the entire empire.”

“It’s no exaggeration to say the Tau’ri have done much in the past eight years to bring an end to the Goa’ould,” said Selmak, speaking up finally. “Your time is at an end. So I ask again, who are you?”

The boy’s eyes flashed as he finally spoke, “You are Tok’ra? You say they have infiltrated the empire? Who are you?”

The Goa’ould now seemed full of questions.

Selmak stared at him for a moment before responding, “I will tell you what you ask, if you tell us what we ask.”

The Goa’ould nodded once.

“Fair enough. There was once an alliance of four who opposed the System Lords. Hamet and Nareth were killed by their overlords; I know not how Egeria fared; I am Talis, the fourth. I was one of Anubis’s underlings when it was discovered that I am Tok’ra. He was falling out of favor with the remaining System Lords, so after torturing me endlessly, he handed me over to Ra. Ra removed me from my host and placed me in the canpic jar. That is the last I remember. I believe it’s your turn.”

“I am Selmak of the Tok’ra. My host’s name is Jacob Carter, and this is Dr. Daniel Jackson. The Tok’ra are a great number now; a few Goa’ould have been turned to our cause, but the vast majority of our numbers were spawned by Egeria before Ra captured her and locked her in another jar on a planet called Pangar.”

Selmak’s voice caught, and he bowed his head.

“Forgive Selmak,” Jacob began. “He’s is having trouble processing this. We never knew there were more other than Egeria. She must have chosen not to pass that knowledge on, but why I can’t imagine.”

“Most likely, she did not want her children to feel her grief. There was no chance of my release; she was alone.” Talis paused, fighting back tears for her lost friend. “Jacob Carter, I will return with you to the Tok’ra and I will leave this boy. But I do not wish for him to return to his former caregiver. John Bishop is not fit to take care of him.”

“Well, NYPD has him in custody, so that won’t be much of a problem,” said Daniel. “Talis, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go make a call. And I have feeling you two have a lot to talk about.”

Daniel left the room and went to Jack’s office where Sam had just finished filling the team in on the necessary details.

“Sam,” he announced his arrival.

“Did he say anything?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah, about that, did you tell them?” he asked.

“Yeah, Colonel Carter just finished telling us the Air Force has been traveling to other planets for eight years,” said Jack, a bit testy.

“Obviously, you signed the non-disclosure forms,” reasoned Daniel. “The reason we haven’t told anyone is because of the mass chaos it would cause. I’m sure you could understand that.”

“He’s right,” said Martin. “Think about it. If people suddenly found out there’s an alien race bent on enslaving or destroying us, the global panic would be unimaginable.”

“This coming from the guy who has every episode of The X-Files on tape,” jabbed Danny.

“Boys!” interrupted Vivian. “I think Dr. Jackson had something he needed to say.”

Daniel nodded his thanks to her and turned to Sam. “Talis is Tok’ra.”

“Tok’ra?” asked Samantha.

“Talis?” asked Jack.

“Are you sure?” asked Sam at the same time.

“The Tok’ra are an off-shoot of the Goa’ould who oppose them in every way,” explained Daniel. “They co-exist with their hosts, only taking hosts who are willing to become such. Talis is the Tok’ra’s name. And yes, I’m pretty sure,” Daniel answered all three questions. “Jacob’s talking to him now. I’ll call Jack and tell him to contact the Tok’ra. We’ll take him back to Cheyenne Mountain, where the Tok’ra will remove the symbiote.”

“I’m sending Martin with you,” said Jack. “That boy is in FBI custody until this case is settled. That’s non-negotiable, Colonel Carter.”

Sam sighed and looked at Daniel.

“I’ll go call Jack,” he muttered, turning and walking out of the office.

* * *

That night saw them entering Cheyenne Mountain. They went straight to the briefing room where Jack continued his tirade about letting an FBI agent on his base. He had contacted the Tok’ra again, and Malek now joined them with another woman at his side.

“Colonel Carter, Dr. Jackson, it’s good to see you again,” he said, and then turned and knelt before Talis. “It is an honor, my queen. Our people rejoiced when we learned of your existence.”

“What is your name?” asked Talis.

“Malek, my queen.”

“Rise, Malek. I am not a god to be worshiped,” she said, pulling him to his feet.

“But you are a savior to be revered,” he insisted.

“Yes, Jacob has told me of the recent fate of the Tok’ra. But I warn you, Malek. Though most of my time has been spent in stasis, I am still old. I do not know how much I can do for our people before my time ends. They have told you I must leave this host?”

“Yes, we worked swiftly to find a new host.”

Here he motioned to the woman and she stepped forward.

“I am called Aliya, my lady,” she said, bowing her head. “It is an honor to be of service to one so great. The Tok’ra saved my people from the Goa’ould generations ago, and we have lived in harmony ever since. We are indebted to you, and it is time I repay what little I can. I am ready to take this boy’s place.”

Talis nodded, and stepped up to Aliya and made as if to kiss her. Martin, forgotten in the back of the room, shuddered when he caught a glimpse of the symbiote going from one host to the next. Aliya coughed as the symbiote entered the back of her throat. Now free of the Tok’ra, Zach Bishop collapsed on the floor. Sam knelt down to check his pulse as Talis blended with her new host.

“The boy needs medical attention,” she said, speaking from a new body. “He was in poor health when we joined, and there was no chance to eat after. If nothing else, he is malnourished.”

“Medical team to the briefing room,” Jack called to the infirmary.

Talis stood silent as Zach was whisked away to the infirmary. Once he was gone, she spoke again.

“Aliya has shown me all she knows of the Tok’ra.” She turned and looked at Malek, and he saw tears forming in her eyes. “You are more than we could have wished for.”

* * *

Martin and Daniel were sitting in the infirmary when Zach awoke. Groggy at first, his mind cleared as memories of the past few days came back to him. He bolted upright, only to have two sets of hands push him back down.

“Easy,” said Daniel, calming the young man down. “You’ve been out for about twelve hours. How do you feel?”

“Like crap. It is gone?” he asked warily.

“Yeah, she left willingly,” Daniel confirmed. “What do you remember?”

“Uh, I was in that guy’s house,” started Zach. “I had gotten into the safe; Dad said the most valuable pieces would be there. I grabbed several figures, and then reached for the jar. It was set back a little, so it was hard to grab. I almost had it when it fell and broke. That… thing slithered out of the jar and looked up at me. The last thing I really remember is it flying up at me. I have vague, fuzzy memories after that, kinda like a dream.”

“Why did you break into Freeling’s house?” asked Martin.

“It wasn’t the first,” said Zach, ready for it all to be over. “Dad’s hooked on cocaine. I did it to pay for his drugs.” Zach’s voice caught in his throat. “He’s mean high, but he at least doesn’t hit me that much. But in between fixes… I had to go to the ER once for a broken arm and concussion; I told them I fell off a ladder.”

“Zach,” Martin started, “the police arrested your dad on abuse charges. If you’ll testify against him, I’ll see what can be done about the breaking-and-entering.” Zach sank back into the pillow. “It’s over.”

“Yeah, it is,” said Daniel, as he got up to leave.

At the door to the infirmary, Daniel looked back at Martin and the boy. It had all worked out, in the end. The Tok’ra had gained a new queen, Talis had gained her freedom, Zach didn’t have to pay for his father’s drugs, and John Bishop was going to jail. There was just one loose end he needed to tie up.

* * *

“ _Hi, Dylan. This, uh, this is Daniel. I’m sorry I had to leave in such a hurry. Something came up, and we had to get back to Colorado. I, uh, I don’t know when I’ll get back to New York, so I’ll say what I have to now. It was nice to see you again, Dee, and it would have been nice to see if there was something still there. I don’t know, maybe if I’m ever in New York again, or you’re in Colorado Springs, maybe… Well… I still owe you a dinner. I’ll see you around, Dee. Bye._ ”

_Fin_


End file.
